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Monday, September 21, 2009

I <3 Leda

I may be a little late to the game on this one, but... vegan tim tams!

For those who are unfamiliar with the tim tam, let me explain. A tim tam is a chocolate sandwich cookie, of sorts. Two crunchy chocolate biscuits, filled with chocolate mousse and coated in chocolate. I became ever-so-slightly addicted to these things when I first lived in Australia as a vegetarian, so much so that Andy sent me a pack from time to time while I was back in the US. But, they are not vegan, so I haven't had a tim tam in ages.

Enter Leda, the fantastically vegan and gluten free baking company that blesses Australian supermarket shelves. I had seen this biscuits in the health food section for a few weeks and was tempted, but they were a bit dear and I was worried they wouldn't be worth the money. Afterall, according to the image on the pack, the filling inside is white, not chocolate.

But when I saw the green mark-down sticker on the pack, I did a little dance in the aisle and grabbed them. Upon arriving at home and opening them, they were a little worse for the wear, but that's Townsville for you--any chocolate which isn't stored in the fridge will quickly turn into a sticky mess.

Appearances aside, I was in awe of the packaging, which proudly proclaims the veganity of these cookies.

The verdict: these are good. Not as good as the original tim tams--the choc mousse filling of tim tams was really light and creamy, where as this filling is more of a hard icing, but this isn't the end of the world. They are rich, and chocolatey, and delicious.

And while they are by no means a health food, they could be worse.

The downside of their goodness: they contain palm oil (which I didn't notice until I got home). But good on Leda for at least listing this as an ingredient when most companies just stick it under the non-descript label "vegetable oil". Maybe a few letters to Leda would be a good thing?

All up, I think these are great, but I probably won't buy them very often. Between the price and the palm oil, I'll stick to homemade biscuits. But it's nice to know they're out there!

It's always nice to know that there's something available to you, even if you do only want it on occasion. I've had these ages ago and loved them, sadly I reacted to either the soy flour or the chickpea flour in them though :(

I've emailed them today, and got a *very* prompt response. Leda use RSPO certified palm oil, which is questionable but at least they are taking steps to make ethical choices, so I don't think I'll let the palm oil put me off buying them next time I get a massive craving.

The Tropical Vegan

Vegan food and low-impact living in the Dry Tropics. Navigate using the tags, below, or by looking at the posts I've grouped under headings, across the top.

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